Five of Hearts

Chapter 6

I woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee and something sizzling. It took me a minute to remember where I was, and even less time to remember the visit I had in the middle of the night. I blushed and shook my head before crawling out of bed. I brushed my teeth in the bathroom and checked the clock. It was only 9:00. My shift at Break Cup didn't start until 1 in the afternoon, so I had plenty of time. I walked through the halls and into the kitchen where all of the guys were gathered. I couldn't help but smile, seeing them walking around, going about their morning routines.

Cash stood at the oven, frying bacon in the same t-shirt and sleep pants he had on the night before. The tattoos covering his arms were dark and I found myself wanting to examine them all. Thane sat at the edge of the kitchen counter, sipping on a cup of coffee, still in his black sweatpants and no shirt. He smirked at me and I blushed and looked away. Hudson had his back to me, grabbing some plates from the cabinet. As he stretched his arms and pulled the plates down, his muscles rolled and flexed, causing me to blush even more. Atticus opened the fridge to pull out a bottle of Orange juice. He wore the same thing he had yesterday morning; grey sweatpants and no shirt. There were more scars covering his back. When he turned around and saw me standing there, he grunted a greeting. No surprise he isn't a morning person. Keegan sat at the other end of the counter from Thane, his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants (at least he wore pants this time) and a cup of steaming coffee sitting in front of him.

"Morning, baby doll," Keegan said with a smile.

"Good morning," I responded quietly, still taking in the scene around me.

"How'd you sleep?" Cash asked, turning around from his bacon to look at me expectantly.

"Great. The bed is super," I looked at Thane and blushed, "comfortable."

Thane didn't look back at me, but I saw him smile as he brought the coffee cup to his lips to take another sip.

"Coffee?" I hadn't noticed Atticus come up beside me, a mug of coffee in his hands. He stood so close, his bare skin rubbed against my arm. I shuddered before muttering a thank you and taking the cup. "Cream and sugar?"

"Yes, please," I answered and followed him to another counter in the kitchen.

"Next time, you should try out my bed, beautiful," Hudson winked and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. "I'd wager it's the most comfortable one in the house. And I wouldn't mind keeping you company either."

"There won't be a next time," Atticus said.

"What?" Hudson looked at Atticus, confused.

"Aw, why not Big Daddy?" Keegan whined comically, making me want to laugh. But Atticus' serious expression kept me from making any noise. "I like having Hattie here. She's like our cute, little mascot."

"Well since none of you can seem to keep it in your pants, what she is is a distraction," Atticus growled. His morning voice was even deeper and more gravelly than his regular voice. I couldn't help but find it sexy. "And I'm sure she's tired of us too. So she is going to go to work and back to her apartment and we'll all move on and not bother her anymore. Sound good?"

In that moment, my world stopped and for just a moment, I was completely lost in my head. My heart pounded with a terrible realization. That did not sound good.

I didn't want to move on.

I liked staying there. I liked being with the boys.

I didn't want them to stop anything. They didn't bother me and even after two days of me telling myself that I didn't need the distraction and I had to stay away from them, the one thing I actually wanted was in this kitchen. I wasn't going to lose it.